Sigma prime vs zoom for sharpness

[colonel]

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I am a traditional prime user and always become reticent to use zooms because of the loss in quality, particularly sharpness. 

I do constantly look at zooms and there has definitely been a massive increase in quality.

I am just using the Sigma 24-70mm f2.8 ii on my SL3 and am blown away by the quality, especially wide open.

However I now have a dilemma. Should I purchase the 35mm f2 and 50mm f2 DG DN for a lighter but also sharper alternative.

The 50mm seems an outstanding lens.

I do have the new 50mm f1.2 and Leica 50mm apo on my radar, but for now, for those that have the Sigma 24-70, or even Leica 24-90, and also the Sigma 35 and 50 f2, how do you rate the sharpness of these lenses in the centre and edges vs the zooms over the aperture range ?

[davidmknoble]

I realize you are asking about Sigma primes.  In all honesty, the Leica APO 35 f/2 lens is the best lens on the market for any system at this point.  It has contrast levels wide open across the entire frame the some lenses hope to get to at f/8.  I think with the SL3, the 35 prime is a good choice because you can crop to 50 with the SL3 and not lose too much.  The Leica APO 35 has such quick falloff, that even at a 50mm crop I think you would find it very pleasing in the foreground and background, and if you're looking for landscape work, it works well cropped too.

Just a thought.

David

[jdlaing]

On 3/25/2025 at 7:02 AM, colonel said:

I am a traditional prime user and always become reticent to use zooms because of the loss in quality, particularly sharpness. 

I do constantly look at zooms and there has definitely been a massive increase in quality.

I am just using the Sigma 24-70mm f2.8 ii on my SL3 and am blown away by the quality, especially wide open.

However I now have a dilemma. Should I purchase the 35mm f2 and 50mm f2 DG DN for a lighter but also sharper alternative.

The 50mm seems an outstanding lens.

I do have the new 50mm f1.2 and Leica 50mm apo on my radar, but for now, for those that have the Sigma 24-70, or even Leica 24-90, and also the Sigma 35 and 50 f2, how do you rate the sharpness of these lenses in the centre and edges vs the zooms over the aperture range ?

35mm f/2 DG DN. 

[Stuart Richardson]

On 3/25/2025 at 12:02 PM, colonel said:

I am a traditional prime user and always become reticent to use zooms because of the loss in quality, particularly sharpness. 

I do constantly look at zooms and there has definitely been a massive increase in quality.

I am just using the Sigma 24-70mm f2.8 ii on my SL3 and am blown away by the quality, especially wide open.

However I now have a dilemma. Should I purchase the 35mm f2 and 50mm f2 DG DN for a lighter but also sharper alternative.

The 50mm seems an outstanding lens.

I do have the new 50mm f1.2 and Leica 50mm apo on my radar, but for now, for those that have the Sigma 24-70, or even Leica 24-90, and also the Sigma 35 and 50 f2, how do you rate the sharpness of these lenses in the centre and edges vs the zooms over the aperture range ?

The 35mm f2 DG DN is not one of Sigma's sharpest 35mm primes. I have it and the 35mm APO Summicron and the 35mm APO Summicron is far ahead. If your goal is sharpness, I agree with David that the 35mm APO Summicron is the best bet. Barring that, I would look at one of the 35mm Art lenses, or the above mentioned 50mm f2 Sigma, which seems to have a sharper formula. I initially bought the 35mm f2 because I liked the 24mm 3.5 so much, but I found that it had a lot more longitudinal chromatic aberration than I liked, while also being rather soft wide open to my eyes. The MTF look pretty good, but in my experience it was not as good as either the 24mm or the 50mm APO Summicron. So I bought a used 35mm APO and was a lot happier, particularly with the purity of the color and the sharpness. Don't get me wrong, it is a very good lens, but if I were to try 35mm and Sigma again, I would probably look at an art lens. But the 35mm APO Summicron is the best 35mm lens I have ever used...and I have used a lot. 35mm FLE, 35mm ASPH non-FLE, 35mm Summilux R, 35mm Summarit S, 35mm 1.4 L, 35mm 1.4 Zeiss for Sony, 35mm 2.8 for Sony etc. None of them are even close to the 35mm APO Summicron.

Edited March 28 by Stuart Richardson

[colonel]

Very interesting. So I continue to be surprised by what the 24-70 ii can deliver day-to-day and it has changed my perspective. 

I tried the 35mm f2. It is sharp from f2.8 and maintains an excellent but not outstanding draw from this aperture. Nevertheless, for its size and cost, it is a great lens which could make a great walk about.

I bought a 50mm f1.2 DG DN, and the hype is right. This is probably the sharpest lens I have ever used, from f1.2. It is also remarkably flat field.

So now I am thinking that I can't compromise my SL3. Probably the Leica 35mm APO is next on my horizon.

Edited March 28 by colonel

[shefys]

If weight is not a concern, then there are rumors that Sigma is going to release a 35mm f/1.2 Mark II this year - maybe worth the wait. It should be lighter than the original version and probably 3-4x cheaper than the APO. F/2 lenses from Sigma are much lighter and a joy to use due to their metal construction and aperture ring, but they don't have any weather sealing besides the mount gasket. Leica's 35 APO is 750g, 5g more (!) than the 24-70 II zoom from Sigma. The APO has a 67mm filter so it's not as bulky as the 24-70, but it's still not a compact/walk-around lens. I like the quality of the 24-70 II images, but to me the lens is too bulky, hence I use f/2 Sigma lenses instead (35 and 50).

[colonel]

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On 3/29/2025 at 3:31 AM, shefys said:

If weight is not a concern, then there are rumors that Sigma is going to release a 35mm f/1.2 Mark II this year - maybe worth the wait. It should be lighter than the original version and probably 3-4x cheaper than the APO. F/2 lenses from Sigma are much lighter and a joy to use due to their metal construction and aperture ring, but they don't have any weather sealing besides the mount gasket. Leica's 35 APO is 750g, 5g more (!) than the 24-70 II zoom from Sigma. The APO has a 67mm filter so it's not as bulky as the 24-70, but it's still not a compact/walk-around lens. I like the quality of the 24-70 II images, but to me the lens is too bulky, hence I use f/2 Sigma lenses instead (35 and 50).

I found that the 35mm f2 doesn't have an optical advantage over the 24-70mm ii, so I continue to use the 24-70mm ii for general nice day work. The 35mm f2 is however much lighter, well built and great when one just wants to travel light.

I have not tried the 50mm f2, but the reviews show is being very sharp from f2. Looks like a wonderful lens. Since I now have the 50mm f1.2, I might buy the 50mm f2 in the future as a lighter walk about. However, so far, I have managed to carry the SL3 and 50mm f1.2 or 24-70 ii in my hand for many hours, so not massively motivated for a light lens at the moment.

I also heard about the 35mm f1.2 ii. I will definitely examine that one closely when it comes out. It will be difficult Leica 35mm APO vs Sigma 35mm f1.2 ii. The Leica second hand will still be quite a bit more then the Sigma. On the other hand, I have heard so much about the famous Leica "draw", that I am interested in trying it for myself!

Sigma 24-70mm ii @ f2.8

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Sigma 50mm f1.2 @ f1.2 (left eye focus)

Edited March 31 by colonel

[Stuart Richardson]

My guess is that you will be trading lens speed for aberrations. I have no doubt that a new Sigma 35mm 1.2 will be an excellent, sharp lens. But with most fast 35mm lenses there tends to be a noticeable amount of longitudinal chromatic aberration. The Sigma 35mm f2 has it as well. It seems to be present in a lot of their fast lenses (and Leica's too). Personally, I really don't like it, as it disrupts my sense of the natural colors in a scene, regardless of how sharp a lens is. If I see magenta tinged foreground blur or green tinged background blur, it takes me out of the photo. I know that many people don't notice, but for me it is something I have trouble unseeing. This is an area where the 35mm APO SL  (and other APO Summicrons) have a distinct advantage. It is just wholly absent. Combined with the sharpness, I think it is what gives them such authoritative image quality. There just a purity to the color. I hope Sigma can replicate this. If they can, especially in a 35mm f1.2, it would be a great achievement.  

[jaapv]

A few simple sliders in postprocessing will take care of it - but I know that you know that 😉